


An Assassination Justified

by CloudF11



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Assassination, Dark Brotherhood (Elder Scrolls) - Freeform, Gen, Ghosts, Revenge, leigelf needs to drink his respecting women juice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudF11/pseuds/CloudF11
Summary: Prompt: “Write about a contract killer literally haunted by his first hit.”He tried to ignore any weight on his conscience about his choice to kill Beitild. Most of the time, it was easy. Balto often reminded himself of his excuse to justify the assassination whenever he felt a particularly chilling presence and a heavy weight on his heart.It became hard to ignore when the chilling presence just wouldn’t go away.





	An Assassination Justified

**Author's Note:**

> creative writing work... did you mean: excuse to work on fanfiction?
> 
> Hello yes I exist. Quarantine has gotten me to play Skyrim again, and doing classes from home has required me to do assignments for my creative writing class, so it was only a matter of time before the two things combined into a beautiful love child that was this fanfic. 
> 
> This is my first Skyrim fic, so I hope you enjoy.

_ “Write about a contract killer literally haunted by his first hit.” _

  
  
  


Balto nocked his arrow on his bow as he watched his sister, Winter, approached the target.

Only a few days ago, he begrudgingly agreed to join the Dark Brotherhood with his sister. This wasn’t necessarily the most honest of work, but at least it would pay well, and he’d be helping his sister along the way.

_ “Fine!” Balto exclaimed. “I’ll join, but only if my contracts involve taking down the worst of people. I will not assassinate those who do not deserve it.” _

_ Winter smiled. “Very well. I’ll take care of the others.” _

Nazir tasked the two with three contracts. They were tasked with killing Ennodius Papius, a former lumberjack. Winter took care of him with ease. He was a paranoid man, which just made it easier to take him out. Winter got a decent sum of coin for her first official contract, and got more after she assassinated Narfi, a beggar in the town of Ivarstead. Balto wasn’t necessarily  _ okay  _ with the idea of killing a beggar, but Winter did not discriminate.

Balto finally agreed to get involved when they arrived at Dawnstar for their final contract. 

Their target was a woman by the name of Beitild. She ran the Iron-Breaker Mine in the town. Her now former husband, Leigelf, ran the Quicksilver Mine, and both were constantly at each other’s throats in competition. They absolutely despised each other, and Balto figured that Leigelf was the one to perform the  _ Black Sacrament,  _ putting a hit out on his ex. 

Both were equally stubborn and cruel to their workers, driven by their competitiveness. Balto did not necessarily feel bad. He heard horror stories about Beitild when he occasionally visited Dawnstar. 

Balto knelt within some brush, perfectly hidden from the eyes of the guards. He listened closely to Winter and Beitild’s conversation, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“So!” Winter said, striking up conversation. “Who’s in charge around here?”

Beitild seemed mildly irritated that someone would interrupt her work, but she answered anyway, if only to get Winter to go away. “That would be Jarl Skald the Elder. He's over in the White Hall, probably talking about Ulfric like he's the second coming of Talos.”

“I see,” Winter replied.  _ “The Dark Brotherhood sends their regards!”  _

There it was, the key phrase. Beitild gave a confused, “what?” before Balto’s arrow flew through the air, striking her in the side. 

Winter quickly snuck away, downing an invisibility potion, while Balto fled the scene. 

Balto claimed an enjoyable sum of septims for the assassination. Regardless if the woman’s husband wanted her dead, or if it was one of her workers who set up a contract for her, it was clear that her death was desperately wanted.

Nazir was ecstatic when he heard Balto finally fulfilled one of the contracts, and added an extra one hundred septims onto Balto’s pay. 

He tried to ignore any weight on his conscience about his choice to kill Beitild. Most of the time, it was easy. Balto often reminded himself of his excuse to justify the assassination whenever he felt a particularly chilling presence and a heavy weight on his heart. 

It became hard to ignore when the chilling presence just  _ wouldn’t  _ go away.   
  


* * *

After a long day of fighting dragons and dispersing draugr, Balto decided to crash at his home in Whiterun. When he arrived, his housecarl immediately went to work on preparing him a meal, while Balto started a fire in the fireplace.

He went upstairs to strip his armor in the meantime, changing into something more comfortable. When he came back downstairs, his housecarl was waiting for him, meal in hand.

“Thank you, Lydia,” he said. “Join me! You deserve some well-needed rest.”

Balto sat down, plate in hand. Lydia prepared him his favorite: horker stew, a sweet roll, and a bottle of Nord mead. 

Lydia went back into the kitchen to grab her own meal. “Yes, my Thane.”

The Thane of Whiterun laughed. “Lydia, I’ve told you before. You don’t need to uphold the formalities. I do not mind.”

She joined Balto in front of the fireplace with her own meal. “As you wish, my Th— Balto.”

The two laughed along, entertained by Lydia’s fierce stubbornness to maintain her housecarl formalities. Once their laughter died down, the two enjoyed their meals over some friendly chatter. 

“So, what have you been doing while away from Whiterun?” Lydia asked.

“I’ve been helping my sister out here and there. Begrudgingly, I might add,” Balto replied, before taking a sip of his mead. 

“Begrudgingly?”

Balto hung his head, sighing, before looking up at Lydia again. “Keep this quiet, Lydia. She convinced me to join her in the Dark Brotherhood.”

The housecarl’s eyes widened. “They’re still around?”

He nodded. “A shadow of their former selves, but yes, they’re still around. And Winter has dragged me into their antics.”

Lydia put her plate down on the table between them. “I’ll keep quiet. Folks won’t take too kindly to the idea of their hero joining an assassin organization. I doubt they’d listen to your reasoning.”

“You’re right about that,” Balto said. “I even swore to only eliminate those who are unjust or overall a negative presence. Winter would take care of the other contracts.”

“Have you carried out any contracts yet?” Lydia asked.

“Only one. I had to go to Dawnstar and take out the owner of Iron-Breaker Mine. She and her ex husband were in a fierce competition over which mine was better,” Balto explained. “Beitild wasn’t that great of a person. Her competitiveness led to her mistreatment of her workers.”

“So a justified kill, then,” Lydia said.

Balto nodded. “Yet, I’ve felt quite uneasy since then. No amount of reassurance will bring me ease.” 

Lydia felt helpless to help her Thane. Obviously, she had no experience in assassinations, or how it might affect the one doing them. All she knew, as a housecarl, was to swear an oath of service and protection to her Thane. 

“Have you considered leaving entirely?” Lydia suggested.

“I just joined,” Balto said. “I cannot do that. Besides, I’m doing this for my sister. My father would be disappointed in me for not helping out a family member.”

“I see,” Lydia said, falling quiet.

Silence filled the living room of Breezehome for some time. Lydia eventually retrieved their dishes and cleaned them, while Balto enjoyed the heat of the fire. 

“There it is,” Balto said, breaking the silence. “That uneasy feeling. Unnatural cold.”

Lydia joined him in the living room. “You’re right. It is unnatural. I can feel it too.”

Just then, the fire before them went out, the room growing darker from the lack of light. Before them, an apparition slowly appeared. The spirit had a feminine shape. A faint glow came from them as they fully came into existence.

“You,” the ghost spoke, pointing at Balto. “I have business with you.”

Balto was not afraid. He fought the World-Eater, for Divines’ sake. “And why is that?”

“You killed me!” the ghost exclaimed, confirming its identity as Beitild. “I had unfinished business!”

_ “As wretched in death as you were in life,”  _ Balto thought. 

“And you are going to help me, so that I may rest in peace!”

* * *

Here he was, back in Dawnstar, about to commit _ another  _ assassination. Wonderful.

Beitild wanted Balto to return to Dawnstar, to see if her ex husband was even fazed by her death. She admitted that the afterlife was a bit lonely without him, regardless of the grudge she held against him.

The spirit lingered close by, following Balto while invisible to the naked eye. She watched as he approached Leigelf, ready to hear what he had to say.

“Hey there, Leigelf,” Balto said. “How’s your mine coming along?”

“Well, things have been going quite well,” the man replied. “My competition has been mostly eliminated. My wife Beitild is dead, and her mine has been left without an owner. Can’t say I miss that old sabre cat!”

That was it. It was enough to infuriate Beitild. She initially wanted him dead just so they could be together in the afterlife, but now she had a better reason to want him dead. 

“Kill him. I don’t care how you do it, but I want to see it happen,” she said, whispering faintly in Balto’s ear.

“Say, Leigelf, why don’t you show me your wife’s mine? I’m sure you’ll be the one inheriting it,” Balto said.

Leigelf could not turn down Balto’s request. As a Nord, it was only natural for him to be full of absolute pride. He led him to the Iron-Breaker Mine, motioning for Balto to follow.

And Beitild followed close behind.

“It’s a nice place you have here,” Balto said, further boosting the man’s already too large ego. 

“Thank you. My miners have already started working here!” Leigelf said.

As the two turned a corner, Balto grabbed the man by his collar, and pressed him against the wall of the cave. A dagger was at his throat in mere seconds.

“What are you doing?!” Leigelf stuttered in fear.

“You have no decency, do you?” Balto said. “You hated your wife so much that you didn’t even care that she passed. She would have missed you greatly, had it been you!”

Leigelf was too afraid to even speak.

“The pure disrespect you have for your wife disgusts me,” Balto continued. “Even though she no longer cared for you, she still held some respect for you. And you could not return that mutual respect.”

“I-I— I take it back!” the man sputtered.

“Do you? Or are you just saying that so I will spare your life?” Balto asked. “I am the catalyst of justice, with Stendarr as my witness. May you find mercy in Sovngarde, beside your wife.”

Beitild showed herself before Leigelf, watching as his eyes grew in sheer disbelief.

Balto wasted no time, bringing Leigelf’s life to a quick end. He cleaned his dagger off on the dead man’s clothes, before leaving the mine.

The spirit appeared before Balto one last time. “Thank you, Balto. You have done me a great service.”

Balto smiled, bowing slightly to the spirit before him.

“I have one last request,” Beitild said. “In my house, you will find a letter locked away in a safe. Bring that letter to my relative, who is named in the letter. They will take over both mines. When that is done, I shall finally be at peace.”

“As you wish,” Balto said, before the spirit dissipated.

As he made his way to Beitild’s home, a smile grew on his face. No longer did he feel a heavy weight on his heart; he made things right. Or, at least, as “right” as he possibly could. And that was enough for him.

**Author's Note:**

> The version with cool pictures can be found in this google document. 
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nfk9K0YAu2Tl8K0CmitNaxipyFYJobOPQB4WnDjSQG4/edit?usp=sharing


End file.
